A Surrey teen is one of a dozen young pianists from across North America who will compete against other 14- to 18-year-olds in New York this month.
Linda Ruan will show her musical skills at the Julia Crane International Piano Competition in Potsdam, New York Sept. 20-22. The 15-year-old will be vying for a portion of $6,000 in prize money, plus a chance to perform in the final round with the Orchestra of Northern New York.
Ruan, a student at Fraser Heights Secondary who has been playing piano for eight years, was selected from a pool of applicants from around the world who submitted a CD recording of their recital program.
Competitors will present a solo recital and a concerto from memory before a jury at the SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music. Ruan will be playing Mozart’s “Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K.466,” Chopin’s “Ballard No. 4,” and “Scarbo” from Gaspard de la Nuit by Maurice Ravel.
On the final day of competition, the three top finalists will present one of four required piano Mozart concertos in the final round with the Orchestra of Northern New York, under the direction of Music Director Kenneth Andrews. Also on the program are the overture to Mozart’s “The Impresario,” and Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 104 in D-Major, “London.”
First prize is $3,000, second prize is $2,000 and third prize is $1,000. There are three other competitors from Canada – two of whom are also from B.C. The rest hail from different parts of the U.S. (For more information about the competition, visit www2.potsdam.edu/wysepn/piano.)
Previously, Ruan has taken top spot at numerous Lower Mainland music festivals. She was also one of six pianists to be selected in 2012 to the Morningside Music Bridge International training program and was one of just two Canadian musicians to be chosen among 24 finalists in the 2013 International e-Piano Competition.